I finally bought a helmet last week. Bern Watts for those who care. I honestly think it won't do jack in the majority of accidents that occur in snowboarding and will only lessen the severity of ones that involve the neck/head. In extremely rare circumstances, it may exacerbate injuries, particularly to the neck by increasing torque delivered by increasing the moment arm of a force which causes rotation. However, there's also very little burden to own and use one. Therefore, I believe it's more of a personal choice than anything else.

Not to get political, but laws about helmet use are the last thing we need. Like the rash of laws recently further restricting firearms available to law abiding citizens, helmet laws do almost nothing to improve society and at the expense of our personal freedom.

Wear one or not, I am not going to say anything if you do or don't. But if you ask me for a recommendation, I will say get one and wear it.

Fair point but Fascism is an established form of government and is an apt term for where we are headed and helmet laws are just a tiny part of it. Because of the connotations associated with it, I will refrain from calling it Nazism.

As for laws requiring lids on kids, I am of the opinion that all things like this should be left up to the parents and the resorts. The government is not our nanny and I am a firm supporter of the concept of a limited government. While being very much a liberal, I am also very libertarian too when it comes to people's freedom and believe there is far too much government intrusion already.

Now, if the resort wants to enact helmet policies, I have no problem with that. As a private entity, they have that right and no one is forcing me to ride at that or any resort. The reason most resorts (at least out west) don't is because they look at statistics and there just isn't a big enough problem for them to waste the time and money to enact and enforce helmet laws. They stand to loose more money from this. Western states already have laws that strongly protect resorts from liability so even the insurance companies really don't care about this issue.

This truly is a media driven frenzy fueled by doo gooders and control freaks who just have to have some cause in their lives to campaign for and to just control others.

I can definitely see where you're coming from. I'm of the opinion that almost everything should be about personal choice - abortion, gay marriage, firearms ownership, even seatbelts.
I am certainly not someone who is a proponent of government control in any form.. I'm currently on probation for something that many of us partake in and something that is proven over and over to do more good than harm. I HATE people who need self validation through controlling others. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm of the same opinion as you are on almost all fronts.. I just don't see an issue in making kids wear helmets - I equate it to school uniforms. If everyone has to wear one, it removes the "uncool" stigma attached to it because it isn't a choice and there's no longer a competition to look cool or compare yourself to your friend next to you. I would say I agree it should be up to the parents, but I don't know how many parents are truly informed on the risks and dangers associated with snow sports in general.
Meh. I'm bored of this topic now lol.

Also, FWIW a helmet is a bitchin place for stickers when you have a top sheet as pretty as mine !

I can definitely see where you're coming from. I'm of the opinion that almost everything should be about personal choice - abortion, gay marriage, firearms ownership, even seatbelts.
I am certainly not someone who is a proponent of government control in any form.. I'm currently on probation for something that many of us partake in and something that is proven over and over to do more good than harm. I HATE people who need self validation through controlling others. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm of the same opinion as you are on almost all fronts.. I just don't see an issue in making kids wear helmets - I equate it to school uniforms. If everyone has to wear one, it removes the "uncool" stigma attached to it because it isn't a choice and there's no longer a competition to look cool or compare yourself to your friend next to you. I would say I agree it should be up to the parents, but I don't know how many parents are truly informed on the risks and dangers associated with snow sports in general.
Meh. I'm bored of this topic now lol.

Also, FWIW a helmet is a bitchin place for stickers when you have a top sheet as pretty as mine !

The school uniform analogy doesn't work. Private schools are the ones requiring students to wear uniforms which is perfectly fine since it's a choice to attend a private school and they can have whatever requirements they want of that nature. If it were a resort or service that required the use of helmets, that would be a valid comparison.

Not to pile on but I pretty much echo Snowolf's sentiments exactly. Helmets are, oftentimes, a good idea but good ideas shouldn't be codified into law. That line of thinking always leads to trouble. Eating a cheeseburger and drinking a tasty pint isn't always a good idea, either, but who's to say if we should be able to do such things.

"No, helmets aren't a big Constitutional crisis but the person who advocates laws requiring heets typically is an advocate for gun confiscation, TSA shakedowns, warrant less wiretaps, and detainment of US citizens by the military without due process inde the NDAA."

Let's see: gun confiscation? Nope, don't believe in that. TSA shakedowns? Yeah, I think people should be checked thoroughly before they get on an airplane. I think the TSA sucks, but it's a shitty job and someone has to do it. Warrantless wiretaps? Nope, wrong again. Detainment of citizens without due process? Nope.

So, now that you've incorrectly stereotyped me (and many other people, I'm sure), do I need to point out the hypocrisy of telling forum members not to call each other "idiots" when they disagree on topics like this, while you, an administrator of the site, deride people on the other side of this debate and call them "control freaks," and "fascists?" Or do the rules not apply to you?

Yeah, I'm pretty much done with this thread. I enjoy this forum for snowboard talk, but if you want to flaunt your paranoia over the erosion of your rights in the freest fucking country on Earth, you'll have to do that with another member.

Both sides of this debate have made their points, and the bottom line is that a given resort will decide its own helmet requirements.
If you see someone else without a helmet- it doesn't matter.
If you see someone else with a helmet- again, it doesn't matter.

If a person who refuses to wear a helmet has an accident, let Snow Patrol worry about that.
If it's your best friend refusing to wear a helmet... just let them know your personal concern for them and maybe they'll change their mind. Otherwise, let them be.

you die wearing one, your unlucky. you die without one, your stupid. how would you like to be remembered?

That's a good point.

But, what's important is that it doesn't matter how that works out for a different person. Personally, I wouldn't care if someone I didn't know looked like they died stupid, or if they were unlucky. It would literally have nothing to do with me.

That's what this thread has become. A place where people say what they think other people should do even though it has no effect on them whether or not they do it. This thread's original intention was for people to discuss the benefits and downsides of wearing helmets, but now it's all just about who should be wearing one. (I'm not pointing to you specifically; just overall. )